Roy Moore Defeats Trump-Endorsed Luther Strange in Alabama Run-Off

Roy Moore came out on top in the highly-publicized, much-watched Alabama run-off Tuesday evening, triumphing over Luther Strange, the candidate who saw President Trump throw his support behind.

Moore, a former State Supreme Court chief justice, will proceed to the general election on December 12, where he will face off against the Democrat Doug Jones, a former United States attorney. The two are vying for a seat in the Senate that was left vacant after Jeff Sessions was appointed as Attorney General.

Moore’s win is seen as a blow to President Trump, and other GOP supporters, who championed Strange over the more divisive Moore.

Moore, according to The New York Times, has been removed from his post in the Alabama State Supreme Court twice — once in 2003, over his refusal to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments, and again in 2016, over his advising state probate judges to defy federal orders on the matter of same-sex marriage.

Strange was appointed to Sessions’s seat by then-Alabama-Governor Robert J. Bentley after it became vacant. During his time in the senate, Strange garnered a good deal of GOP support for the likes of President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

President Trump appeared at a rally for Strange Friday. His speech is remembered for being the genesis of the controversy with the NFL and its players over their choosing to take a knee during the national anthem.

For his part, though, the president issued a tweet Tuesday evening congratulating Moore on his win:

Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Dec!

During his concession speech, Strange thanked the president for his support, calling him a “loyal friend,” according to the Times. He continued by saying that, “If this causes [Trump] any trouble, it’s not his fault.”